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FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany -
Iran captain Ali Daei on Thursday hit back at foreign criticism of his
country's ban on women from entering football stadiums.
Daei, the world's leading international goal-scorer, said that the ban
was an internal matter that should be decided by the Iranian people.
"Every country has its own rules and culture. The United States is
different from Iran, we have our own beliefs," said the 37-year-old
veteran.
"Currently with the atmosphere in the stadiums, I don't want my wife to
be there."
Daei, the first player to reach 100 international goals, said that he
would prefer to scrap the rule but football grounds were too rowdy for
women.
"I personally think they should relax this ban so women can go to
stadiums but considering the atmosphere in stadiums and the respect we
have for women it might not be appropriate at this time," he said.
"There's no danger at all but there are a lot of bad things being
chanted and there's a lot of shouting at each other and we have respect
for women, we don't want them to see that."
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a surprise announcement in
April that the ban would be lifted, but the order was vetoed by supreme
leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Daei also said "negative advertising" had created a misleading view of
the Islamic country in the West.
"It's as big as the distance between here and sky," he said, when asked
about the difference between perceptions of Iran and reality.
"Ninety-nine percent of what you hear is wrong and negative
advertising."
Iran has become increasingly isolated over its nuclear program and
Ahmadinejad's controversial views on the Holocaust, with the political
fallout swirling around the team here.
Daei is hoping to add to his international tally of 109 goals as Iran
takes on Mexico, Angola and Portugal in Group D. |
